Hey there, Nonnie! Nah, not yet – I estimate that there shall probably be five or six chapters left (though they’re not going to be this hideously long, gaaaaah) – I hope, I hope, I hope! *crosses fingers*
I gotta refine and/or chop SOME of this, though – half the issue here is how the pace builds, and gdi I may be fussing BUT IT’S SUCH A BIG MOMENT and aaarrrrrrgh nervous so fucking nervous
Though I don’t expect it to get MUCH shorter after I’ve edited it three or four times, just more streamlined! I know me and my longwindedness lmao
ahahahahaha *thud*
Ch40 current word count: 22.5k
22.5k
OH GOD
I gotta cut this down. Gotta edit this like mad. Oh god.
It’s nearly 3 years since I (very nervously!) dipped my toe into the LOTR fandom! I’ve been through so many huge life changes, good and bad, with you all: my job, my child, my house, everything. This is by-and-large the most creative, supportive and kind fandom I’ve ever been a part of. I can’t believe you’re all following a nerd like me!!
winners to be chosen using an online random number generator
prizes drawn on February 1, 2016, at 8pm AEST.
please have your askbox open!
THE PRIZES HUZZAH 1st place! An OC cameo in Sansukh, created to the winner’s specifications – OR – a short fic (up to 5k) based on the winner’s own story/art/prompt.*
2nd place! Either an original composition, written and performed by me specifically for the winner’s story/art/prompt – OR – an existing song of the winner’s choice arranged and performed by me.
3rd place! Either a ficlet (up to 1.5k) based on the winner’s own story/artwork/prompt* – OR – a short song-slash-advertising jingle based on the winner’s blog, to be paired with a promo/rec post for their art or fic if they so desire 🙂
You can hear me singing and check out some of my compositions here, here and here, and here is my AO3 profile if you wish to check out some of my writing!
*I can write for these fandoms with some confidence: Avengers, LOTR/The Hobbit, HTTYD, Star Wars: TFA, Discworld, Doctor Who… and I can muddle through others with a bit of research! I do have some absolute NOTPs and characterisations I will not write (such as Evil!Dain Ironfoot), but I am open to most pairings otherwise. Also I will not write gore, vore, mpreg, incest or rape/non-con. Other kinks subject to negotiation, though!
It’s nearly 3 years since I (very nervously!) dipped my toe into the LOTR fandom! I’ve been through so many huge life changes, good and bad, with you all: my job, my child, my house, everything. This is by-and-large the most creative, supportive and kind fandom I’ve ever been a part of. I can’t believe you’re all following a nerd like me!!
winners to be chosen using an online random number generator
prizes drawn on February 1, 2016, at 8pm AEST.
please have your askbox open!
THE PRIZES HUZZAH 1st place! An OC cameo in Sansukh, created to the winner’s specifications – OR – a short fic (up to 5k) based on the winner’s own story/art/prompt.*
2nd place! Either an original composition, written and performed by me specifically for the winner’s story/art/prompt – OR – an existing song of the winner’s choice arranged and performed by me.
3rd place! Either a ficlet (up to 1.5k) based on the winner’s own story/artwork/prompt* – OR – a short song-slash-advertising jingle based on the winner’s blog, to be paired with a promo/rec post for their art or fic if they so desire 🙂
You can hear me singing and check out some of my compositions here, here and here, and here is my AO3 profile if you wish to check out some of my writing!
*I can write for these fandoms with some confidence: Avengers, LOTR/The Hobbit, HTTYD, Star Wars: TFA, Discworld, Doctor Who… and I can muddle through others with a bit of research! I do have some absolute NOTPs and characterisations I will not write (such as Evil!Dain Ironfoot), but I am open to most pairings otherwise. Also I will not write gore, vore, mpreg, incest or rape/non-con. Other kinks subject to negotiation, though!
askjdfaksjdhfa YOU’RE SUCH A SWEETHEART, thank you so much Nonnie! I am so happy you like it, and phew yeah, there’s a lot to get into the next chapter hopefully without losing the momentum guh. We totally will be seeing Sam’s moment of Epic Crowning Badassery, oh my GOD yes, I couldn’t possibly live with myself if I left it out!
(I am still tearing my hair out over the timing of the chapter in ROTK entitled ‘The Field of Cormallen’, seriously. One page of battle- IF THAT, JUST ONE PAGE – then BOOM, and a blink later and we’re back in Ithilien and everyone is spontaneously singing “Praise them with great praise”. HUH WUT WAIT HUH THAT WAS QUICK)
I got tagged by my dearest Miss Pop, @poplitealqueen. *hugs* Keep on poppin’!
Where do you publish your work? AO3, though I have some older stuff on FFN. I don’t post everything on AO3, because I want to keep a sort of departure between my early work and what I am writing now. Not that I am not proud of it and what I learned and accomplished back then! Only that I feel it’s not really indicative of my interests and my writing nowadays.
What medium/application/etc. do you write in or with? Word, pretty much exclusively. I do save a lot of stuff in Google docs for editing purposes, though.
Do you collaborate with others? Uhhhh, I suppose! I have worked with artists and podficcers and musicians, obvs, but not another writer… I do a lot of headcanoning and world-building with other writers, though I’ve never co-written. Brainstorming is fun, but my time and productivity are not reliable, and I would hate to let anyone down. I tend to write in massive flooding bursts followed by long periods of AUGH.
How much editing do you do before you publish? MASSES. I mean it, before i publish a chapter or a work, I have done more editing than I can possibly describe. I edit as I go, I edit sections as I complete them, then I edit when i finish the work or chapter. Then I re-read it madly for hours, and edit again. Then I post it and probably catch one or two things once more and okay EDIT CHAPTER BUTTON HERE I COME
Do you listen to music when you write? Not really. I tend to want to focus on the music, rather than the scene I am writing or whatever. Music is very distracting to me, it wants all my attention.
How do you decide what to write about? Uuuuuuhhh, sometimes it’s a prompt, as with the Gigolas week stuff (Sansukh itself was a hobbitkink prompt). Sometimes it’s a moment that just leaps to mind, a missing piece or connection between characters that wants to be written… this was certainly the case with Yours Faithfully and Snowmelt (also I desperately wanted to write some boinkaboink, it had been agesssssss)
When do you write? Whenever the Dwarfling is asleep! Usually during her afternoon nap (around 1pm-3pm), or at night. I can’t stay up late anymore though. I used to do all my writing in the wee small hours but now I have to be up at the crack of dawn, so no more late nights for me.
How often do you write? Depends. On work-days I get nothing done. When I am home, it all depends on the Dwarfling and how she is doing that day. Sometimes my brain is borking, or my mojo is simply gone – as has been the case for a little while now. But it is on the rise again as I slowly gain back my confidence and energy.
It has to be fun, I guess is what I am saying. If I feel under pressure from constant “UPDATE NOW!!?!’ messages, or if I am told what and how to write, or if a bullshit review has made me feel like crawling under a rock because what is the point, then yeah, I won’t have anything in the tank and I won’t be forcing myself. But when I feel happy and invested and engaged in what I am doing, when I am writing for my own pleasure and interest (and when I have built enough confidence to say that others can stick their expectations up their jacksie) – ohhhhh, then! Then I can churn out 4-5K in one sitting, no worries. The whole world drops away and I am a part of the scene I am describing, whisked away into Middle-Earth or the MCU or whatever. Those are the best moments.
Do you take requests? Sometimes! On occasion an anon ask will spark a little drabble, or a prompt will fire my imagination. I have worked from a lot of kinkmeme prompts, and I keep a little list of ideas that have sparked an idea but I don’t have the wherewithal to deal with right at this time.
Is there any genre or type or story you want to write but are hesitant to? Uhhhh, I don’t know? I would try my hand at just about anything, I suppose, but YMMV.
Any inspirational quotes, videos, tricks, articles, etc. that help you stay motivated? Uhhh, sure! I like to read a lot, that always helps. I keep in mind the advice of much better writers than me. I like those little motivational posters, those are fun. Remember that deadlines are for professionals, and we do this for love not for money.
Here is a great quote for those who feel that acclaim is the be-all and end-all:
All anybody needs to know about prizes is that Mozart never won one.- Henry Mitchell.
When it comes to asshole reviewers and those people who attack you and your writing and your efforts, here is a wonderful line from a very controversial lady:
I know that those who seek to hurt and humiliate me want to trap me in a prison of anger and resentment and there is no point in rewarding them with success.- Ayaan Ali Hirsi.
Aaaaand finally, here’s one of my favourite sections from one of my favourite authors in the multiverse. (GNU Terry Pratchett.) It perfectly captures how I feel about writing, and about stories… and about transformative fiction in general.
“All right,“ said Susan. "I’m not stupid. You’re saying humans need… fantasies to make life bearable.”
REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.
“Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—”
YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.
I have spent two solid days writing. Not Sansukh, though it IS Sansukh-related.
It’s a surpriiiiiiise, bwaaaahahahaha 😀
I will be getting back to writing Sansukh itself tonight. Current word-count is hovering around 4K, but working on the little super secret special surprise project has put some air back into my sails… let’s hope it lasts!